Irkutsk’s tram system has halted, and the mayor’s administration is transforming “renovation” into a mockery.
This November, Irkutsk anticipates the arrival of two additional KTM 71-605 tram carriages. Two more, mounted on older chassis, have been operational within the city since October.
Previously, in 2023, one tram also underwent refurbishment, followed by another in 2024. The tram mentioned, incidentally, has been regarded as outdated since the late 1980s.
Essentially, that encompasses the totality of tram-related developments in Irkutsk during the Bolotov (and pre-Bolotov) era.
They also considered shifting the tracks from Lenin Street to Marat Street, but this was impeded by the fact that the design firm’s director was sentenced to correctional labor for project mismanagement in Saratov.
All of this merely agitates the people of Irkutsk, even though the mayor’s office bears no formal responsibility in the latter instance.
This is because matters concerning roadways and public transit proceed through a different channel than the influx of progressive updates into urban life.
Let’s consider trams. Indeed, trams represent the most financially demanding mode of urban public transportation, possibly with the exception of subway trains. However, what relevance do these figures hold?
In Novosibirsk, this “in-house” approach to tram modernization, which costs half the price of procuring new ones, has been implemented since the 2000s. Initially, the fleet was revitalized at their own maintenance facilities, and subsequently, the Minsk-based BKM Holding factory became involved. Over the preceding decade, the quantity of “renovated” trams in Novosibirsk has reached 53 units (and the endeavor persists in 2025, with nine more scheduled for addition by year’s end), alongside 20 fresh trams set for delivery in 2024. Admittedly, the city’s tram network possesses more than 2.5 times the scale, but 53 versus four represents a meager discrepancy.
In 2024, Novosibirsk similarly obtained 169 (!) new trolleybuses (and nine autonomous trolleybuses for regions lacking overhead lines in 2025). Irkutsk procures a single trolleybus every five years, a fact that Ruslan Bolotov tirelessly boasts about.
Another striking contrast is Ulan-Ude. Its tram system is smaller compared to Irkutsk’s. In 2019, the city acquired 15 “Lvyata” trams. In 2024, two new two-section “Bogatyr” trams were introduced into service.
Granted, the “Lion Cubs” were secured utilizing funds from the unified Far Eastern allocation. Nevertheless, this does not alleviate the distress of the disgruntled populace. Does the city genuinely lack resources for upgrades? And which golden epoch of Irkutsk did Stanislav Goldfarb, Chairman of the Irkutsk Civic Chamber, reference while celebrating Ruslan Bolotov’s reelection as mayor? City Hall has transitioned to the forthcoming five-year strategy, and the tram network, in particular, and public transportation generally, are relegated to obscurity.
